Hi - this is Srinivasan Sampathkumar from Triplicane. I have a passion for Marine Insurance, Cricket and of course Temples especially Thiruvallikkeni.
From Sept 2009, I am posting my thoughts in this blog ; From July 2010, my postings on Temples & Tamil are on my other blog titled "Kairavini Karayinile " (www.tamil.sampspeak.in)
Request you to keep providing your feedback which will help me improve and present better.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Hangzhou, is in
news. It is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang Province in east
China. It is the place where Asian games
are to be conducted in 2022, third Chinese city to host Asian Games after
Beijing 1990 and Guangzhou 2010. It is the place where the eleventh G-20 summit
2016 is held.

The Chinese
president, Xi Jinping, has wrapped up country’s first G20 summit by urging the
thousands of foreign journalists who flocked to east China for the event to
carve out a special place in their hearts for the host city. Guardian reports
that in recent days, foreign journalists have been astonished and bewildered at
how China’s authoritarian rulers have managed to transform a usually bustling
metropolis of 6 million inhabitants into a virtual ghost town to guarantee a
trouble-free summit. More than a third
of Hangzhou’s population were reportedly “convinced” to leave town as part of
what Chinese state media called a massive exodus that saw cars forced off the
roads and a seven-day public holiday declared. Thousands of residents were
ordered to vacate the towering apartment blocks that surround the conference
centre where world leaders had gathered, to prevent an assault from above. Dissidents
were placed under house arrest or forced to leave the city by security agents.

Indian Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modiji on Sunday stressed to China’s President Xi
Jinping that it was of “paramount importance” for bilateral relations that
Beijing respected India’s concerns on key strategic issues. Officials said
these include Chinese investment in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and India’s entry
to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group. The PM raised the China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor issue during his bilateral meeting with Xi, his first meeting in
Hangzhou, which was held before the G20 Summit opened on Sunday afternoon.

Modiji also stressed the need to address the root
causes of terrorism emanating from the neighbourhood, leaving little doubt that
his message was aimed at getting China to pressure Pakistan, rather than
preventing international action on its “all-weather friend” as it has recently
done by placing holds on UNSC sanctions on terrorists such as Masood Azhar. The
PM also made what officials described as “a strong intervention” on terrorism
during the informal BRICS leaders' summit that followed his bilateral talks
with Xi. “Terrorists in South Asia or anywhere for that matter do not own banks
or weapons factories,” he said. His
meeting with Xi was seen by both sides as an opportunity to set ties on track.
While officials said specific issues were not discussed in detail, the idea was
to convey a clear message on the way forward for ties, and for more sensitivity
to each other’s core concerns.

During his visit
Modiji was presented with a collection of Chinese translations of ancient
Indian texts and yoga sutras to mark his visit on Sunday. The presentation of
the books by Hangzhou scholar Wang Zhicheng comes at a unique time for China’s
Indologists. Just before Modiji landed in China, Huang Baosheng, China’s most
renowned Sanskrit professor and Indologist, was completing a lifetime’s
endeavour. It took Huang 10 years to finish China’s first complete Sanskrit
textbooks.

The 11 volumes are
a full guide for aspiring Sanskrit scholars that will be introduced in
universities and schools. These range from a primary Sanskrit reader, the last
book that was finished recently, to literature readers and translated Buddhist
sutras that are important to Chinese. For Chinese scholars, this is potentially
a transformative development as for the first time it provides them with a
complete set of guides to study the language, which will be circulated in
Chinese universities.

Peking University
has taught Sanskrit for decades, and there are still around 30 Chinese studying
the language. But they have been facing difficulties. “Why I have compiled
these books? We have so many people in China studying Western culture, but few
studying Indian culture,” Huang told Mail Today. “Ancient Indian culture has
been so important to China and Sanskrit is a key language to have a deep
understanding of this great culture, so this is my effort to help the new
generation in China learn this language and culture.” Many young Chinese
interested in India or Buddhism are taking to the language, says Sanskrit
researcher Huang Yiting at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Huang Baosheng,
China’s most renowned Sanskrit professor, has completed the country’s first
full Sanskrit textbook, which run to 11 volumes. “I majored in Indian English literature, but
to learn Indian literature you need to understand ancient culture of India
which drew me to learning Sanskrit,” she said. “But the problem is many can’t go to India to
study as Indian universities are not interested in hosting Chinese scholars on
short-term courses and visas do not come easily. Most Chinese Sanskrit students
go to Germany but what they learn is also not so ideal.” The appeal to Mr Modi by Professor Huang is
that India should do more to help the next generation of Sanskrit scholars,
starting with providing them visas and allowing them to come to India on
fellowships.